due to the system the owners have concocted, the more weak (low-revenue) franchises there are, and the weaker they are, the more profit the other owners make. Low revenue teams drive salaries down. Low revenue teams give the owners a leg to stand on every 6-7 years when the CBA comes up. These teams paid them large sums of money to join, and then their losses become someone else's problem. If they do manage to turn it around and raise their revenues, the other owners win again from the increased tv revenues.